Candida Bloodstream Infections in Italy: Changing Epidemiology during 16 Years of Surveillance.

Although considerable progress has been made in the management of patients with invasive fungal infections, Candida bloodstream infections are still widespread in hospital settings. Incidence rates vary geographically, often because of different patient populations. The aim of the present study was to describe the epidemiology of candidemia, to analyze the trend of species distribution, and to measure the in vitro susceptibility to antifungal drugs in a university Italian hospital from 1998 to 2013.

Susceptibility to echinocandins of Candida spp. strains isolated in Italy assessed by European Committee for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute broth microdilution methods.

Background: The echinocandins are recommended as first-line therapy for Candida species infections, but drug resistance, especially among Candida glabrata, is becoming more frequent. We investigated the antifungal susceptibility of anidulafungin, caspofungin, and micafungin against 584 isolates of Candida spp. (bloodstream, other sterile sites) collected from patients admitted to an Italian university hospital between 2000 and 2013.

Mold contamination in a controlled hospital environment: a 3-year surveillance in southern Italy.

Background: Environmental monitoring of airborne filamentous fungi is necessary to reduce fungal concentrations in operating theaters and in controlled environments, and to prevent infections. The present study reports results of a surveillance of filamentous fungi carried out on samples from air and surfaces in operating theaters and controlled environments in an Italian university hospital.

Methods: Sampling was performed between January 2010 and December 2012 in 32 operating theaters and five departments with high-risk patients.

In vitro activities of amphotericin B deoxycholate and liposomal amphotericin B against 604 clinical yeast isolates.

We determined the in vitro antifungal activity of liposomal amphotericin B (L-AmB) against 604 clinical yeast isolates. Amphotericin B deoxycholate (D-AmB) was tested in parallel against all the isolates. Susceptibility testing was performed according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) M27-A3 method.

The role of procalcitonin in neonatal intensive care unit patients with candidemia.

Candidemia is a major infectious complication in neonatal patients. The isolation of yeasts from blood is still the "gold standard" for its diagnosis, but other laboratory markers (i.e.

Oral nystatin prophylaxis in surgical/trauma ICU patients: a randomised clinical trial.

Introduction: Candida prophylaxis in ICU is still a matter of debate. Oral chemoprophylaxis has been advocated to reduce the incidence of Candida colonisation and infection.

Methods: We performed a randomised trial studying a single drug (nystatin) versus control in surgical/trauma ICU patients.

Candida colonization index in patients admitted to an ICU.

Multiple-site colonization with Candida spp. is commonly recognized as a risk factor for invasive fungal infection in critically ill patients. We carried out a study to determine the relationship between Candida colonization and invasive infection in neurological patients admitted to an ICU.

Diagnostic performance of 1→3-β-d-glucan in neonatal and pediatric patients with Candidemia.

Fungal sepsis is one of the major problems in neonatal and pediatric care unit settings. The availability of new diagnostic techniques could allow medical practitioners to rapidly identify septic patients and to improve their outcome. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the 1→3-β-d-glucan (BDG), individually and in comparison with the Candida mannan (CM) antigen, in ten preterm infants and five onco-haematological pediatric patients with Candida bloodstream infections already proven by positive culture.